babypalooza

Guess what! I'm an Aunt!! Christopher and Emily's little boy Oliver was born just a month and a day after Mae. And, just like Mae, he was 4 days overdue and weighed 7 lb 13 oz!

Mom, Dad, and Kevin drove out to celebrate my birthday last week with a delicious steak dinner and mom's homemade blueberry pie. They stayed overnight afterwards, which unfortunately involved a very early morning trip to our creepy basement because of a severe weather warning. Mae alerted us to the impending storms just before they hit (though she probably just woke up because she was hungry).

Thursday, Mae and I hitched a ride with my parents back to their house for a couple days. We let Dan have a whole night to himself, and then he drove in Friday after work for BABYPALOOZA! Christopher and Emily brought over Oliver, Courtney and John brought Henry (just a little older than Oliver) and his big sister Kate, and Matt and Jamie brought Will and Libby. Mae and Oliver enjoyed a few minutes of playtime on the blanket. It was fun to see how much she's grown, since she weighed about as much as Oliver just a month ago. She's about 9.5 lbs now! She looks pretty excited to meet her cousin!

Here they are with little Henry. I think he's their second cousin, but it might be more complicated than that. So cute!

Babypalooza was chaotic and fun! Can't wait to see these little ones grow up together!

father's day

We had a couple of fun outings for Father's Day last weekend! Saturday evening we walked to the square by our house for Dad Fest. Mae was a bit too young (and a bit too sleepy) to try out the bounce house or face painting, but Dan and I enjoyed getting a tour of a fire truck from our local fire department and watching an ice sculptor carve a giant minion.

Sunday was Mae's first trip to the zoo! Dads received free zoo admission for Father's Day so we decided to take advantage. I was a bit worried that Mae would fuss the whole time, but as my mom said, "She's going to cry anyways. What's the difference if she cries at home or at the zoo?" Then Mae managed to sleep the entire trip and did not see a single animal! We had lots of fun, toting her around the different zoo houses and even checking out the new baby cheetah cubs in the nursery!

Just a quick comment that this is my 100th blog post. Yay!

happy birthday to me

I'm celebrating my second annual 29th birthday this week. (No, this joke never gets old. Even though I do.) I'm definitely noticing little things that remind me that I'm turning 30. Most notably, the hair dresser tactfully changed her usual response when I asked once more if I should start coloring my gray hair (from: "Oh, I'll let you know when but I don't think you're there yet," to: "We can start with something subtle, maybe a demi-permanent blah blah blah." Ok, I can take a hint).

In honor of my birthday, I have something really fun to share. Back in April, an email popped up from my grandparents with a very special scanned document attached: a copy of the construction paper Christmas card that my dad made them about 30 years and 6 months ago to announce that they were expecting! I just love the creative poem and cute little illustrations. This might rival Dan's handmade "Birds I Know" book as my favorite construction paper document of all time!

one month photo outtakes

It's not exactly easy to take photos of a wiggly newborn... Even when she's in a playful, happy mood! I took 144 shots during Mae's one month photo shoot! Here's some of my favorite outtakes.

Dan's favorite photo was one of Mae showing off her Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex or "fencing reflex." She looks like she's flying off to the save the planet. I couldn't resist making this little cartoon after he put that image in my mind!

one month of mae

Happy one month, sweet girl!!

This newborn thing is a bit of a roller coaster. Every evening spans an eternity... full of screaming and tears (mostly Mae's, some mine), and yet I can't believe it's already been a month since I held her for the first time. My heart melts when she looks at me with her innocent eyes, but minutes later she lets out a howling, "WAAAHHH!" and I'm reminded of why Dan nicknamed her Beelzebaby after a particularly tough day. I thank God for giving us this beautiful girl every day, but I pray for the patience to take care of her at least twice as often!

So, it's been a little rough, but here's some of the little blessings from this month! Mae is healthy and gaining weight like a champ. She often sleeps for 4-5 hours at night. She already enjoys laying under the colorful activity gym with her stuffed leopard, Stewart (my obstetrician made us promise to name a stuffed animal after him). We take daily walks to the grocery store with Mae in the stroller or Moby wrap. She is starting to make cute little cooing sounds, especially after a rapid sneezing fit (yes, she inherited that trait from her Dad). She sucked her thumb for the first time about a week ago, although she usually prefers to try cramming her whole hand into her mouth. And she really is super adorable, even sometimes when she's crying.

Other good news from this week is that Dan returned to work Monday after getting laid off at the beginning of February. It was so helpful having him at home for four whole weeks with Mae and for the last bit of my pregnancy. I don't know how I could have survived it without his help... this week alone with Mae was quite a challenge! Fortunately my mom came back to help out Thursday. Dan and I even got to enjoy a dinner out while Mae stayed home with her Grandma!

Charlie and Mae are getting used to each other. She naps through his best attempts to chirp her awake. I think he was disappointed to lose the distinction of "Loudest Creature in the House," though he has retained, by a narrow margin, the title of "Creature Who Poops The Most Often." Uh oh, I just had a horrifying thought: What if he learns to mimic baby screams? This could get ugly.